The two laws, House laws 2008 and 2009, merge four state departments into two. Sen. Patricia Rucker, a Republican from Jefferson County, chairs the Senate Government Organization Committee, where the legislation were forwarded after passing the House.
She introduced primary technical amendments to both measures.
House Bill 2008 proposes merging the Department of Commerce and the Department of Economic Development. Economic Development would be incorporated into the Department of Commerce.
Sen. Eric Tarr (R-Putnam) proposed a supplemental amendment that would have maintained the departments independent. He stated that the Department of Economic Development should stay independent in order to preserve a focus on the state’s economic progress.
“I don’t think that West Virginia should take its eye off the ball on being laser focused, on sending our message around the planet, that you need to come to West Virginia to open up your business here,” Tarr told the crowd.
The vote was tied, but an amendment requires a majority, so it failed.
House Bill 2009 would make the Department of Arts, Culture, and History, which includes West Virginia Public Broadcasting, an entity within the Department of Tourism.
Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, proposed a secondary amendment to the measure requiring the library section director to have a master’s degree from an American Library Association-accredited institution and three years of qualifying work experience in a library.
“These requirements are critical for a library section director’s capacity to lead and administer the state library system. “The library section serves over 170 libraries throughout the state,” Garcia stated.
That proposal, along with all other proposed secondary amendments, were rejected.
If the House approves the Senate’s revisions, the bill will be sent to the governor for review. Gov. Morrisey has indicated that he will sign the laws.
“I pledged to make state government more efficient and accountable to the people we serve, and these bills will help us do just that,” the governor stated.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting is a division of the Department of Arts, Culture and History.
